Typewriter Hacked To Play Zork 77
UgLyPuNk writes "Typewriters that can type by themselves are one thing. Typewriters that can type by themselves and play Zork are totally different — the stuff that dreams are made of (at least the dreams of little girls who spent hours in front of a Commodore 64 telling the machine to GO NORTH and such)."
No You Didn't ... (Score:5, Interesting)
...though we called it a "printer". Also, are there any pictures of the thing from the front? Not everyone has the ability to view videos. All I can see are some internals pictures on the project page.
Printers don't generally accept feedback. I know you can't view the video but what you see is a typewriter (with the keys moving) typing out the opening to Zork and then the user issuing it a few commands on the same typewriter keys that then come back to life and respond. This level of interaction is unique and I've never seen a "printer" with that sort of functionality. If you're interested in how it displays the output:
computer to Arduino (via USB); Arduino to shift registers; shift registers to MOSFETs; MOSFETs to solenoids; solenoids to keys.
And to acquire input flattened resistors are placed beneath each key and are converted into a serialized device signal to the computer via USB. Not exactly earth shattering work but for the hobbyist that likes to see clever hacks and remembers Zork, it's a grin achieving piece of work.
Already done on....the PDP-10 (Score:4, Interesting)
Given that Zork was originally run on the PDP-10 back in the late 70's chances are it already ran on a paper driven console..WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT.
Hey! I resemble that! (Score:3, Interesting)
Some of us actually grew up playing Adventure (still playable online today -- wow! [dyne.org]) on something that looks suspiciously similar to that! In my case, a LA36 DECWriter II [columbia.edu], which apparently came standard with hippie dress, porn mustache and butterfly collar [microsoft.com]. I think I still have the old 300 baud acoustic coupler modem lying around somewhere.
Re:Jewel Encrusted Egg (Score:2, Interesting)
I forget what's inside the egg, but if you are carrying it when you meet the thief, he will steal it. Then later in the game, when you find the thief's lair, you will find the egg opened.
If I remember correct it was like a wind-up mechanical bird. You could either leave the egg laying around, or let it get stolen from your inventory. Either way it was always a pain to remember how long you had to wait before you could kill the thief and the egg would be open.
Aaron